The farthest human-made objects in space, ranked by distance from the Sun in astronomical units.
Quick answer: 1. Voyager 1, 2. Pioneer 10, 3. Voyager 2, 4. Pioneer 11, 5. New Horizons, 6. Juno, 7. Lucy, 8. Dawn (2007–2018), 9. Rosetta (ESA), 10. Stardust.
Five spacecraft are on trajectories that will take them out of the solar system. This list ranks the ten most distant human-made objects from the Sun, using NASA/JPL telemetry data as of mid-2026. Voyager 1 leads the pack at over 165 AU — more than 165 times the distance from Earth to the Sun. The distances change constantly as these spacecraft continue traveling outward at tens of thousands of kilometers per hour.
Launched in 1977, Voyager 1 is the most distant human-made object. It entered interstellar space in 2012 and continues to return data from beyond the heliosphere at roughly 17 km/s relative to the Sun.
Pioneer 10 was the first spacecraft to cross the asteroid belt and the first to fly by Jupiter. Contact was lost in 2003, but it continues coasting outward toward the constellation Taurus.
Voyager 2 is the only spacecraft to have visited all four gas giants (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune). It entered interstellar space in 2018.
Pioneer 11 flew by Jupiter and Saturn before heading out of the solar system toward the constellation Aquila. Contact was lost in 1995.
New Horizons made history with its 2015 Pluto flyby and 2019 flyby of Arrokoth in the Kuiper Belt. It is the fastest spacecraft ever launched from Earth.
Juno entered orbit around Jupiter in 2016 to study the planet's interior and magnetic field. It is currently in a polar orbit around the largest planet in the solar system.
Lucy is on a 12-year mission to explore the Jupiter Trojan asteroids. It is currently in a heliocentric orbit that will take it through the Trojan swarms.
Dawn orbited the asteroid Vesta and the dwarf planet Ceres before running out of hydrazine fuel. It remains in a stable orbit around Ceres in the asteroid belt.
Rosetta rendezvoused with comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko and deployed the Philae lander. The mission ended with a controlled impact on the comet in 2016.
Stardust collected comet and interstellar dust particles and returned them to Earth in 2006. The spacecraft remains in a heliocentric orbit around the Sun.
| # | Name | Launch year | Operator | Status | Destination |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Voyager 1 | 1977 | NASA | Active (interstellar) | Interstellar space (Jupiter, Saturn flybys) |
| 2 | Pioneer 10 | 1972 | NASA | Contact lost (2003) | Solar system escape (Taurus) |
| 3 | Voyager 2 | 1977 | NASA | Active (interstellar) | Interstellar space (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune flybys) |
| 4 | Pioneer 11 | 1973 | NASA | Contact lost (1995) | Solar system escape (Aquila) |
| 5 | New Horizons | 2006 | NASA | Active (Kuiper Belt extended mission) | Kuiper Belt, solar system escape |
| 6 | Juno | 2011 | NASA | Active (Jupiter orbiter) | Jupiter orbit |
| 7 | Lucy | 2021 | NASA | Active (en route to Trojan asteroids) | Jupiter Trojan asteroids |
| 8 | Dawn (2007–2018) | 2007 | NASA | Ended (2018, in Ceres orbit) | Vesta and Ceres (asteroid belt) |
| 9 | Rosetta (ESA) | 2004 | ESA | Ended (2016, impacted comet 67P) | Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko |
| 10 | Stardust | 1999 | NASA | Retired (heliocentric orbit) | Comet Wild 2, interstellar dust sample return |
Spacecraft are ranked by their approximate distance from the Sun as of August 2026, based on NASA/JPL Deep Space Network telemetry and published mission data. All distances are given in astronomical units (AU), where 1 AU equals the average Earth-Sun distance (~150 million km). Where exact telemetry is not publicly available, the list uses the most recent published distance estimate.
Voyager 1, launched in 1977, is the farthest at approximately 165.5 AU from the Sun (as of August 2026).
Five spacecraft are on trajectories to leave the solar system: Voyager 1, Voyager 2, Pioneer 10, Pioneer 11, and New Horizons. Only Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 have crossed the heliopause into interstellar space.
Mars is about 1.5 AU from the Sun, Jupiter is about 5.2 AU, Saturn is about 9.5 AU, and the Kuiper Belt begins around 30 AU. Voyager 1 at 165 AU is already far beyond the Kuiper Belt.